Bicycling in Bloomington

 The Little 5 bicycle races are part of what make bicycling in Bloomington interesting. I’ve attended the Little 5 mens and womens races just about every year since 1988. The Little 5 weekend is my favorite sports weekend in Bloomington. This year, the race was more interesting for a couple reasons.

Barack Obama appeared at the womens race on Friday afternoon. He arrived just prior to the race and stayed through a few laps. I attended the race with my wife and my daughter and her family. Everyone except me shook his hand. It was very exciting for my granddaughter to shake his hand.

 The mens race was interesting for the weather. The Little 5 was held a weekend earlier than usual this year. The temperature Saturday was in the mid-40s with an occasional shower and even a little snow blew through. It was the coldest Little 5 I’ve attended; more like a mid-November football game.

Both races were similar to other years. About 1/2 way though, a small number of teams that might win had clustered together. And, for both races, in the last five laps, one rider “broke away” from the others and won easily. Delta Gamma won the womens race; the Cutters won the mens race.

I did little cycling last week - just a few commutes. The weekend weather kept me inside spinning. The weather will improve this week and I should get to ride more.

Sunday, April 06, 2008

I got out for a ride today. Very nice weather. I started about an hour later than usual because I wanted to wait until the sun had a chance to warm the air. I left about 9:20. It was 46^o  when I started and about 62 ^o  when I finished about 2.16 hours later. More traffic than I normally find on Sundays but not terrible.

I had about 4 possible rides when I left home but I didn’t ride any of them. Instead, I started out to ride northeast of town. I went east on 45 and then north on Bethel Ln. I planned to go down Boltinghouse but completely missed it. My mind was wandering. I also planned to turn down to Griffey but missed it, too. At Old 37, I went north to Robinson. Up Robinson, Tunnel, and back to 45. I added the Russell Rd detour to get a little more distance and another hill. I had a very strict 11:30 deadline, and I just made it. I added a couple side trips to look at some things. Nothing planned but sometimes unplanned rides are fun.

Highlights – not many. Russell Rd is always a challenge but it was very sandy on the downhill side. Uphill, it was fine. The sun was bright and I had just enough clothes. I may not get out for another long ride until June, so this 29.5 mile ride might be my distance record for some time. My computer distance is longer than Mapmyride because I didn’t record all side trips.

My riding is getting more steady now. I was able to ride to work 4 of 6 days last week. I got out for a Sunday ride, and I got in a weekday short ride. Spring has arrived.